HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe’s largest bank, created a US$5 billion fund to increase access to credit for small and medium-sized businesses.
A total of £1 billion (US$1.5 billion) from the new fund has been allocated to UK customers, London-based HSBC said in an e-mailed statement. HSBC will provide the capital from its own resources, it said.
Creating the new fund will help businesses weather the short-term shocks caused by the downturn, HSBC said.
The bank is allocating about HK$4 billion (US$520 million) to Hong Kong businesses. HSBC’s loans to small and medium-sized companies in Hong Kong have grown over the past two months as rival banks curb lending, global co-head of commercial banking Margaret Leung said in Hong Kong.
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